[SUGGESTION] Forum topics should auto-close after period of inactivity

helloworld

sr. member

Activity: 266

Merit: 250

Quote from: repentance on September 28, 2012, 01:13:14 AM

Quote from: helloworld on September 27, 2012, 08:28:30 PM

One thing which I think would be a really handy visual for necro'd threads would be a different background color on posts that are greater than say 3 months old.

Or a thick red horizontal line separating the old posts in the thread from the new ones.

The way some boards handle it is by having a warning pop up when you go to post a reply - similar to the warning we have when new replies have been added while you're writing a response. It's useful because people often don't look at the date of a thread when they've found it via search and the information contained therein could be hopelessly outdated. Warning people that it's an old thread before they can post a reply brings this to their attention.

That's great and all, but I'd prefer to see that kind of warning *before* I read through 7 pages of year-old posts!

Meni Rosenfeld

donator

Activity: 2058

Merit: 1054

I think it will be useful if "unread posts" etc. show the time the thread was started in addition to the time of last post (some forums do that). It's a bit more information-dense but it can help you know if you're walking into a graveyard. A slightly different color for old threads as helloworld could also be useful.

BadBear

legendary

Activity: 1652

Merit: 1128

There is a warning when posting in old threads. Well kind of, if the last reply was more three months there's a warning, once it's been bumped there's no warning.

repentance

hero member

Activity: 868

Merit: 1000

Quote from: helloworld on September 27, 2012, 08:28:30 PM

One thing which I think would be a really handy visual for necro'd threads would be a different background color on posts that are greater than say 3 months old.

Or a thick red horizontal line separating the old posts in the thread from the new ones.

The way some boards handle it is by having a warning pop up when you go to post a reply - similar to the warning we have when new replies have been added while you're writing a response. It's useful because people often don't look at the date of a thread when they've found it via search and the information contained therein could be hopelessly outdated. Warning people that it's an old thread before they can post a reply brings this to their attention.

Quote

Many forums have a policy against duplicate threads, in fact. Prohibiting necros is equivalent to adding a policy requiring duplicate threads.

The policy is often against having more than one active thread on a topic in a sub-forum, and there are times when it would be useful around here as useful information often gets lost when it's posted across 10 different threads on some hot button issue.

On the whole, though, this place isn't really busy enough to require dedicated mega-threads, and the reality is that when they exist people rarely bother reading beyond the first page or two so the same questions, answers and observations get posted over and over anyway.

helloworld

sr. member

Activity: 266

Merit: 250

One thing which I think would be a really handy visual for necro'd threads would be a different background color on posts that are greater than say 3 months old.

Or a thick red horizontal line separating the old posts in the thread from the new ones.

theymos

administrator

Activity: 5222

Merit: 13032

Quote from: dree12 on September 27, 2012, 07:31:13 PM

Better to necro an old thread than to have to relearn historical knowledge. Many forums have a policy against duplicate threads, in fact. Prohibiting necros is equivalent to adding a policy requiring duplicate threads.

Yeah, I don't like either of these policies. Post in an old thread or create a new one -- whichever you want.

dree12

legendary

Activity: 1246

Merit: 1077

Quote from: BadBear on September 27, 2012, 06:27:46 AM

What's wrong with old threads? There's a lot of posts/threads, and there's a lot of interesting older discussions that will never get read by people who would be interested in it.

+1

Better to necro an old thread than to have to relearn historical knowledge. Many forums have a policy against duplicate threads, in fact. Prohibiting necros is equivalent to adding a policy requiring duplicate threads.

BadBear

legendary

Activity: 1652

Merit: 1128

What's wrong with old threads? There's a lot of posts/threads, and there's a lot of interesting older discussions that will never get read by people who would be interested in it.

ShadowOfHarbringer

legendary

Activity: 1470

Merit: 1006

Bringing Legendary Har® to you since 1952

I think that topics on this forum should automatically close after a certain period of inactivity time (perhaps 3 months or less) to prevent necromancers from casting their spells and thus creating an unbelievable mess.

Who's with me ?

Topic: [SUGGESTION] Forum topics should auto-close after period of inactivity (Read 1002 times)